Corn-husking machine.



J. E. GOODHUE.

CORN HUSKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION IILED JAN. 22, 1914,

1,094,848, Patented Apr. 28, 1914.

2 SHEETSSHBET 2.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH 60.. WASHINGTON, D c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES E. GOODHUE, OF ST. CHARLES, ILLINOIS.

CORN-HUSKING MACHINE.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Janus E. Gooorrun, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Charles, in the county of Kane and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Corn-Husking Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in corn-husking' machines of the type to which United States Letters Patent No. 739,540, granted to me September 22, 1903, relates, and involving, generally stated, means for directing the ears of corn to be husked upon inclined rollers arranged in sets and adapted, by their rotation, to strip the husks from the ears of corn.

In the use of machines of this character, the rolls, which are positively driven, are required to be so mounted that they may automatically spread apart as the husks and stalk portions, fed to the rollers, are passed bet-ween the latter for discharging between the rollers, it having been found in' practice that the rollers are required to spread farther apart at their upper ends than at their lower ends; and one of the objects of my invention is to provide for the spreading of the rollers without impairing the drive connection between them.

Another requirement of corn-husking machines of this character is that some means be provided at the lower ends of the rolls for conveying the husked ears of corn beyond the operating mechanism for the rollers. In order that the husking rolls operate most effectively, it is necessary that they be inclined to such a degree that the apron devices, heretofore provided for conducting the ears away from the rolls, in machines involving gear connection at the lower ends of the rolls, incline to such a slight degree, relative to a. horizontal plane, that the ears of corn do not freely discharge therefrom and oftentimes choke the machine and impair its operation; and another obj-ect of my invention is to provide improved means for supporting the apron devices'at such an angle to a horizontal plane as will permit the ears of corn to speedily discharge therefrom, and which will be held at all times out of engagement with the gears at the lower ends of the rolls.

Referring to the accompanying drawings-Figure l is av broken plan view of oorn-husking mechanism constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 22, 1914.

Patented Apr. 28, 1914.

Serial No. 813,653.

similar view of the lower end portion of the mechanism shown in Fig. l, with the chute for conveying the husked ears of corn from the husking rolls, omitted. Fig. 3 is a View in end elevation, showing the chute in section, of the lower end of the machine of Fig. 1, this view being taken at the line 3 on Fig. l and viewed in the direction of the arrow. Fig. at is a section taken at the line 4 in Fig. 1 and viewed in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 5 is a sect-ion taken at the line 5 on Fig. 1 and viewed in the direction of the arrow; and Fig. 6, a section taken at the line 6 on Fig. 4, and viewed in the direction of the arrow.

In the drawings, I have shown husking mechanism only, but, in practice, the mechanism shown would form but one part of the entire machine, provision being made therein for breaking the stalks from the ears and cutting or shredding the husks and stalks removed from the ears, though, if desired, my improved mechanism may be used separately from the other elements just referred to.

The supporting frame of the husking machine is represented at 15 being supported in any suitable manner in accordance with common practice. The husking rolls are represented at 16 and 17, these rolls, which are arranged in inclined position, being provided in sets, one of each of said rolls for each set thereof, and formed peripherally with any suitable means for engaging the husks, and pieces of stalk fed thereto for pulling the husks from the ears and feeding the husks and stalks downwardly between the rolls. The rolls 16 and 17 in accordance with common practice, are rotated in opposite directions and toward each other for drawing the husks and stalks therethrough as above stated, the means which I have chosen to illustrate, for thus operating on the husks and stalks, comprising ribs 18 provided on the periphery of the rolls 16, and cooperating with the plain surfaces of the rolls 17, though any other suitable means may be provided for this purpose. The rolls 16 are journaled at their upper ends in stationary bearings 19, and at their lower ends in stationary bearings 20 fixed on the frame of the machine, these rolls being rotated in the directions of the arrows in Fig. t by means of a drive shaft 21 carrying spur gears 22 which mesh with similar gears 23 fixed on the upper ends of the rolls 16 The rolls 1?, which are adapted to yield lat orally relative to the rolls 16, are journaled at their upper and lower ends in boxes 24k and 25, respectively, which are mounted to slide toward and away from the boxes 19 and 20, respectively, the boxes 2st being supported in any suitable manner to permit them to yield as stated and backed up by springs 26 in accordance with common practice. The boxes 25 are provided on their under sides with plates 27 which have dovetailed guide connections with plates 28 se cured to the frame 15 of the machine. In terposed between adjustable stop devices 29 on the frame 15 of the machine and the boxes are coiled springs 29 which operate to yieldingly force the bearings toward the bearings 20 for yieldingly holding the rolls ".6 and 1'7 in contact, the springs 26 and 29 however, permitting the rolls 17 to shift laterally of the companion rolls 16 when forced apart by the feeding therethrough of hushs or stalks by the action of the rolls thereon. The rolls 17 are driven from the rolls l6, and to this end these rolls are provided at their lower ends with intermesl'iing gears and 91, respectively, which preferably have a pitch diameter equal to the diameter of the rolls, these gears operat ing to drive the rolls 1'? in a direction conti'ary to that in which the respective coinpanion rolls 16 are driven through the gears 22 and 23.

It is essential that the gears 30 and 31 be maintained in mesh at all times during the operation of the machine, and while the material, which discharges between the rolls at their lower ends, is usually not of such bulk as to cause the rolls 1'?" to be forced laterally sutliciently to throw these gears out of mesh, it sometimes happens that the substance passing between the rolls is suilic-iently massed, or of such size, as to cause these gears to be thrown out of mesh, unless the latter are restrained. In order that these gears may be *ained for the purpose stated, I employ means for this purpose WlllCll are preferably of the form shown, and comprise a link 32, one of these links cooperating with each set of rolls 16 and 17 and embracing the hubs 33 of the gears 30 and 31, these links preferably having no connection with the hubs and with the central elongated openings 34 therein. of such length as will cause the rolls 1'? to have a limited lateral movement at their lower ends relative to the rolls 16, but not sufficientto move the gears 31 out of mesh with the gears 30. It will, therefore, be readily understood from the foregoing that the rolls 1? are free to yield laterally of the con'ipanion rolls 1t: to discharge between them any material that may be engaged by the rolls at their upper ends, and at their lower ends are free to yield to a limited degree, but sullicient to permit the material engaged by the rolls at their lower ends to pass through the latter, compressing the material if it happens to be so massed, or of such size, that it otherwise would not pass through the rolls. ln the particular con structed illustrated stripper-plate means are provided, a (lescriptitm of which as follows: Secured to the forward end of each of the stationary boxes is an upwai'dlyextending plate 35, provided at its upper end with a horizontally-dispos-ed section 36 which e1;- tends over the lower ends of the adjacent; rolls and is of the convoluted form, as shown, to conform, in general, to the contour of the rolls as illustrated, the depressed portions 37 of the sections 556 registering with the grooves formed by the rolls of each set. It will be readily understood that as toe ears of corn, with a section of hush still attached thereto, approach the lower ends of the rolls, the latter having begun to draw the hush through the rolls, the stripper plate will operate to hold the ears against further downward movement until the hush. has been torn therefrom, the depressions 3T serving to permit the ears in their downward movement to move down the rolls without obstruction, thus preventing the :u-cuinulation of ears at this point.

In accordance with my invention, I also provide improvements in the chute-portion of the machine for receiving the ears after being hushed and conducting them away from the lower part of the machine. The chute for this purpose is represented at 38 being formed preferably of sheet metal and adapted to extend over the mechanism beyond the stripper plates 36, the chute being formed of a main section 89 and a lip portion 10, the latter projecting beyond the gears 30 and 31.

As hereinbefo-re stated, it is desirable that the chute incline downwardly to as nearly the same extent. as the rolls as possible, but it should be held clear of the gears 30 and 31 which are of greater diameter than the rolls. To this end I so form the links 32 as to cause them to project slightly at their upper edges above the gears 30 and 81, as represented at 41, upon which projecting portions the chute at its section 39 rests, and preferably bevel the inner ends of the teeth of these gears, as indicated at 42, the forward end of the chute being preferably hingedly connected to the machine as through the medium of a pintle 43 which passes through straps a l on the chute 38 and a strip d5 rigid. on the machine. It will be noted from the foregoing that by supporting the chute from the links 82, as stated, the chute may be caused to extend very close to the gears 30 and 31 without danger of the latter rubbing against the chute, and by pivoting the chute as stated,

the latter may be readily swung upwardly on its pivot to afford access to the bearings of the rolls, as, for example, to lubricate them.

As will be readily understood by those skilled in the art, my improvements, as hereinbefore set forth, serve to cause a machine of this type to operate positively, without danger of becoming choked by the accumu lation of ears of corn at the lower end of the rolls, and without danger of impairing the machine by destroying the inter-meshing engagement of the gears with each other.

While I have illustrated a particular form in which my improvements may be embodied, I do not wish to be understood as intending to limit my invention thereto, as the same may be variously modified and altered without departing from the spirit of my invention, it being my intention to claim my invention as fully and completely as the prior state of the art will permit.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a machine of the character set forth, the combination of inclined rotary members provided with means for husking ears of corn supported thereon, means at the lower ends of said members for driving one of said members from the other thereof, a member supported on said rotary members, and an inclined apron pivotally connected at its upper end with the machine and supported beyond said pivot on said last named member.

2. In a machine of the character set forth, the combination of inclined rotary members provided with means for husking ears of corn supported thereon, and movable laterally relative to each other, means for driving one of said members from the other thereof, a link embracing said rotary members for limiting such lateral movement, and a discharge apron or chute supported on said link in spaced relation to said means.

3. In a machine of the character set forth, the combination of inclined rotary members provided with means for husking ears of corn supported thereon, and movable laterally relative to each other, means for driving one of said members from the other thereof, a link embracing said rotary members for limiting such lateral movement, and a discharge apron or chute pivotally connected with the frame of the machine and supported at its free end on said link in spaced relation to said means.

JAMES E. GOODHUE.

In presence of O. G. Avrsos, D. C. THoRsEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

